Developing Personal and Organisational Capability ATEMQ Conference Carolyn Barker AM, FAIM Chief Executive Officer Australian Institute of Management – Qld & NT 25 May 2006

Australian Institute of Management Some Context Workforce demographics are changing and will have an irreversible impact on the individual’s positioning in an organisation Individuals now talk about “Personal Career Planning” openly Work/life integration is better recognised and respected Individuals have a duty of care to each other and the organisation they chose to work with

Australian Institute of Management Some More Context Organisational politics is especially prevalent in large organisations, both public and private sector…and as a concept has not mellowed The learning organisation is the appropriate framework for ensuring personal capability development contributes to organisational capability

Australian Institute of Management Personal Career Management The primary responsibility of all individuals in organisations A new skill for most people, one for which they are not adequately prepared Includes a “cookbook approach” to formal learning, informal learning, personal transparency and a reinforcing positive outlook

Australian Institute of Management The Power of Engagement Angry Fearful Anxious Defensive Resentful Invigorated Confident Challenged Joyful Connected Depressed Exhausted Burnt out Hopeless Defeated Relaxed Mellow Peaceful Tranquil Serene Negative High Positive Low

Australian Institute of Management Another Way of Describing It I have upped my standards, now up yours There’s no ‘I’ in team… but there is an ‘I’ in win Life’s a bitch and then you die Life’s a beach Negative High Positive Low

Australian Institute of Management Old to New – Personal Mastery Manage timeManage energy Avoid stressSeek stress Life is a marathonLife is a series of sprints Downtime is wasted timeDowntime is productive time Rewards fuel performancePurpose fuels performance Self-discipline rulesRituals rule The power of positive The power of full engagement thinking

Australian Institute of Management The Learning Organisation A place where people continually expand their capacity to create results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free and where people are continually learning how to learn. Peter Senge, Fifth Discipline Field Book

Australian Institute of Management The Five Disciplines Personal mastery – learning to expand personal capacity which impacts on the organisational environment…allowing all members to develop themselves towards common goals. Mental models – reflecting upon, clarifying and improving our internal pictures of the world and how they shape our decisions and actions.

Australian Institute of Management The Five Disciplines Shared vision – building a sense of commitment in a group, developing shared images of the future and the principles and guiding practices for how to get there. Team learning – transforming conversational and collective thinking skills so that people can reliably develop intelligence and collectively contribute more. Systems thinking – a language for describing forces and interrelationships that shape the behavior of systems

Australian Institute of Management A Bit on Organisational Politics This is where people representing different interests, agendas and perspectives and compete, come into conflict or collaborate in order to… Interpret and evaluate information different to the state of culture and objectives Allocate or claim scarce resources and rewards

Australian Institute of Management This Translates Into Compliance instead of Commitment A general lack of trust Monitoring and surveillance instead of open dialogue Plans not put into practice Rules being enforced selectively and inconsistently Focus on status and symbols rather than substance

Australian Institute of Management In The End Better leaders understand personal career planning equals personal mastery Better leaders link personal development to organisational capability Better leaders don’t allow themselves to be disempowered Better leaders understand the power of full engagement